Thank you all for your feedback and questions!
Some commented on the timetable and some on the housing complex and surrounding area.
The gates you see in the photos are guarded. There's a security guard either standing at the gate under an umbrella (usually during the day) or sitting in his lodge (during the night). You need to place your card on a reader and the gate opens and a voice tells you 'Have a good day' or 'welcome'. If you happen to be carrying shopping bags and can't place your card on the reader, the guard will open the gate for you. The same applies if you have a bicycle. Every time I go in and out, the gate opens magically. Visitors have to report at the gate and guard and ask for permission to enter. They also have to leave their details and state where they would like to go. In some cases they need to be picked up at the gate. It is a bit different with us Laowai - foreigners. Because it's only a handful of us, the guards have memorised our faces and open the gate before we take out our cards.
Each building has a card reader in front of the entrance, where you have to place your card in order to open the front door. Alternatively you dial a code or the flat number to open you. A normal key is used for the flat entrance.
I don't know what the rest of the country looks like, but Guiyang is quite spacious. There are tall, 30+ storey buildings nearly everywhere, but there's a lot of free space between them. The free space is nicely decorated with trees, bushes, squares, lakes, rivers, ponds, playgrounds and exercise machines. There's personnel to keep the grounds tidy and clean. People do their best not to throw litter on the ground. The same applies to the city centre. Wide roads, tall buildings, lots of space between them. At least here in Guiyang you don't feel the population of 4+ something millions.
Unlike most western countries where pupils finish school around lunchtime or early afternoon, here in China, school finishes late. As some of you pointed out, the same applies to boarding schools in the UK. However, the days here are a little longer. The reason is the various activities throughout the day. For a start, periods last 40 minutes and are followed by breaks of at least ten minutes. There's a flag raising every Monday morning (more in a later post), that lasts roughly half an hour. There are various sports activities, starting with a 10 to 15 minute session in the morning, followed by proper physical education period later in the day. An extra activity lesson with the foreign English language teachers is planned twice a week. Most of us have chosen a sports or games class, so we play outside with the pupils. I've got volleyball class with grade 8 every Monday and games with grade 2 every Thursday afternoon.
The pupils don't get the sort of homework they get in a normal school in western countries. The amount of homework they get is small compared to the amount in the west. They do it in class in the afternoons or evenings. The other thing is that due to many contact hours, the pace is slower and therefore the small amount of homework.
Here's the gate I walk in and out every day. On the left hand side are the two gates for pedestrians and bicycles, on the right side is the big one for prams, wheelchairs, etc. Farther right is the guard's lodge.
As you can see it is quite spacious, tidy and neat.
Trees on I.V. These trees are from a different region and they are on life support until they grow big.
Some commented on the timetable and some on the housing complex and surrounding area.
The gates you see in the photos are guarded. There's a security guard either standing at the gate under an umbrella (usually during the day) or sitting in his lodge (during the night). You need to place your card on a reader and the gate opens and a voice tells you 'Have a good day' or 'welcome'. If you happen to be carrying shopping bags and can't place your card on the reader, the guard will open the gate for you. The same applies if you have a bicycle. Every time I go in and out, the gate opens magically. Visitors have to report at the gate and guard and ask for permission to enter. They also have to leave their details and state where they would like to go. In some cases they need to be picked up at the gate. It is a bit different with us Laowai - foreigners. Because it's only a handful of us, the guards have memorised our faces and open the gate before we take out our cards.
Each building has a card reader in front of the entrance, where you have to place your card in order to open the front door. Alternatively you dial a code or the flat number to open you. A normal key is used for the flat entrance.
I don't know what the rest of the country looks like, but Guiyang is quite spacious. There are tall, 30+ storey buildings nearly everywhere, but there's a lot of free space between them. The free space is nicely decorated with trees, bushes, squares, lakes, rivers, ponds, playgrounds and exercise machines. There's personnel to keep the grounds tidy and clean. People do their best not to throw litter on the ground. The same applies to the city centre. Wide roads, tall buildings, lots of space between them. At least here in Guiyang you don't feel the population of 4+ something millions.
Unlike most western countries where pupils finish school around lunchtime or early afternoon, here in China, school finishes late. As some of you pointed out, the same applies to boarding schools in the UK. However, the days here are a little longer. The reason is the various activities throughout the day. For a start, periods last 40 minutes and are followed by breaks of at least ten minutes. There's a flag raising every Monday morning (more in a later post), that lasts roughly half an hour. There are various sports activities, starting with a 10 to 15 minute session in the morning, followed by proper physical education period later in the day. An extra activity lesson with the foreign English language teachers is planned twice a week. Most of us have chosen a sports or games class, so we play outside with the pupils. I've got volleyball class with grade 8 every Monday and games with grade 2 every Thursday afternoon.
The pupils don't get the sort of homework they get in a normal school in western countries. The amount of homework they get is small compared to the amount in the west. They do it in class in the afternoons or evenings. The other thing is that due to many contact hours, the pace is slower and therefore the small amount of homework.
Here's the gate I walk in and out every day. On the left hand side are the two gates for pedestrians and bicycles, on the right side is the big one for prams, wheelchairs, etc. Farther right is the guard's lodge.
The gate from the complex across. Guard standing under his umbrella
Card to enter the complex and my building.
Either you place your card on the reader, or you enter a code or you dial the flat number to open you.
Gardeners at work.
Trees are supported by ropes and sticks as long as they are young. These ones here get an extra protection for cold and ants and bugs. The lower part of the trunk is painted white (background) and some get a foil wrapped around (front).
Trees on I.V. These trees are from a different region and they are on life support until they grow big.
If you would like to read more by me, here are my novel and my diary from Ar'ar, in the northern Saudi desert. Both available on Amazon as soft and hard copy.
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